Here are some photos.
Here is Blaise in mid-sneeze...
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Jakob Blaise Neffendorf
Welcome Jakob Blaise! Our son was born on November 14th at 6:02 AM. He is more beautiful that I could imagine. Truly God has been good to us.
Here are some photos.
Here is Blaise in mid-sneeze...
Here are some photos.
Here is Blaise in mid-sneeze...
Monday, March 17, 2008
A Brief Education
This is a 45-minute animated video that is a lesson on our economy and our banking system here in the free world. Usually I am not in favor of video forms of education as they tend to dumb important topics down, but the words in this video are too strong to ignore.
It's all together interesting, frightening and angering. I hope you take some time to watch it and I would love to hear any feedback you may have, either positive or negative. The link is below:
Money as Debt by Paul Grignon
It's all together interesting, frightening and angering. I hope you take some time to watch it and I would love to hear any feedback you may have, either positive or negative. The link is below:
Money as Debt by Paul Grignon
Monday, February 04, 2008
Unless it is Bent
I cannot think very clearly these days. I have no lack of thoughts bouncing through my mind, but there is little control or grasp of those thoughts. I cannot hold tightly to one long enough to develop a full idea and therefore I have no strong ideas that lead to me to action. Seasons such as this, are not uncommon to me. It’s paralyzing to a large degree and it’s altogether frustrating.
Sunday, my thoughts began to move in a more consistent direction as my pastor preached a sermon on 2 Peter and passivity. He began by playing a portion of Martin Luther King’s, “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top” speech. In the address, King comments on the condition of men’s backs:
"If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent. "
King was obviously making an allusion to the oppression of the black men and women during that period. And our country has grown much, relating to this oppression, since these words were spoken, but true and good words transcend time and specific instances in history and I believe his words here reach into our culture today.
But our backs are not bent from being ridden by oppressive men. Quite opposite of racial oppression, our backs are bent from the soft couches in our living rooms. Our backs our bent from reaching to push the button to surf the channels, or to record our weekly addiction. Our backs are bent from the pull of the ear buds that fill our heads with noise. Our backs are bent from the atrophy of our leisure… from our master, complacency.
It is not that our culture has too much leisure, but that we hardly realize that we have it because it’s filled with out second thought as to how it should be used. I often have read that people today have more leisure time than any other time in human history. I’m not sure if this is true, but it seems likely.
As believers our leisure is not used as it was intended, to enjoy communion with brothers and sisters, to serve those in need or simply to do something outside of our own consumption. We fill our spare time with things that numb our minds and keep us from thought or action.
We seek out gray for our leisure. Justification for our complacency cannot be found in the black and white of the Gospel, but if we could just pry open a gray area in the midst of it then we could at least escape our thoughts of guilt. We have done this successfully and we then fill that time with noise and amusement so that our mind will not easily wander back to the black and white. And we can keep afloat in the sea of gray.
I hope and I pray that I am beginning to grow weary of the gray; because I confess that I’m drowning in it. The only way out is, by grace, to straighten my back and shed the oppression of my complacency. Complacency cannot ride my back unless it is bent.
Sunday, my thoughts began to move in a more consistent direction as my pastor preached a sermon on 2 Peter and passivity. He began by playing a portion of Martin Luther King’s, “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top” speech. In the address, King comments on the condition of men’s backs:
"If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent. "
King was obviously making an allusion to the oppression of the black men and women during that period. And our country has grown much, relating to this oppression, since these words were spoken, but true and good words transcend time and specific instances in history and I believe his words here reach into our culture today.
But our backs are not bent from being ridden by oppressive men. Quite opposite of racial oppression, our backs are bent from the soft couches in our living rooms. Our backs our bent from reaching to push the button to surf the channels, or to record our weekly addiction. Our backs are bent from the pull of the ear buds that fill our heads with noise. Our backs are bent from the atrophy of our leisure… from our master, complacency.
It is not that our culture has too much leisure, but that we hardly realize that we have it because it’s filled with out second thought as to how it should be used. I often have read that people today have more leisure time than any other time in human history. I’m not sure if this is true, but it seems likely.
As believers our leisure is not used as it was intended, to enjoy communion with brothers and sisters, to serve those in need or simply to do something outside of our own consumption. We fill our spare time with things that numb our minds and keep us from thought or action.
We seek out gray for our leisure. Justification for our complacency cannot be found in the black and white of the Gospel, but if we could just pry open a gray area in the midst of it then we could at least escape our thoughts of guilt. We have done this successfully and we then fill that time with noise and amusement so that our mind will not easily wander back to the black and white. And we can keep afloat in the sea of gray.
I hope and I pray that I am beginning to grow weary of the gray; because I confess that I’m drowning in it. The only way out is, by grace, to straighten my back and shed the oppression of my complacency. Complacency cannot ride my back unless it is bent.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Finally... Wedding Photos
Ok, here are the wedding photos. Just like the honeymoon, there are two albums. One is an abridged version and the other is the complete 460+ photos. I hope you enjoy.
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